In a networking service delivery environment (e.g., a digital subscriber line service environment), it is critical to deploy fast, versatile, and scalable systems. Broadband service providers (e.g., DSL) typically offer a large variety of service plans, which allow subscribers to choose between various service options. For example, subscribers can choose between low-cost service plans offering basic services and expensive service plans offering premium services.
For DSL providers, as the number of subscribers and services increases, so does the amount of system resources needed for tracking subscriber services. According to one prior art technique, a DSL provider stores a list of services for each subscriber. Such a list can include the subscriber's maximum bandwidth, available filters (e.g., firewalls), encryption information, virtual private network information, access control lists, etc. When a subscriber initiates a session, the service provider retrieves the subscriber's service list to determine which services are available to the subscriber. As the number of subscribers grows, repeated fetching of service lists can create computational and communication overhead. Moreover, with a large number of subscribers, the space needed for storing service lists can become relatively large. Furthermore, when the DSL provider adds new services, it must update each subscriber's service list, consuming system resources and potentially reducing the system's service capacity.